Henderson Town

Henderson Town Hall is located on Henderson Road, Henderson, MD 21640; phone: 410-482-2193.

Beginnings [1]

The Henderson area was an Indian enclave in the days before early European settlement. An abundance of arrowheads, stone axes, and other artifacts can be found in the surrounding gardens and fields. The Town of Henderson originally developed as a crossroads village in the hinterlands of Caroline County.

At the close of the 18th Century, Edward Thawley owned a farm called "The Carrow Place," near modern day Henderson. In 1831, one of Thawley's granddaughters married Joshua Meredith. Henderson was originally called "Meredith's Crossing." The name Henderson was bestowed on Meredith's Crossing in 1868, being named after Mr. Henderson, a major stockholder in the Delaware & Chesapeake (D&C) Railroad. Soon after, Henderson began to expand and its first school, church, and mill were erected.

In 1874, a school site was chosen. The Henderson schoolhouse grew out over the years as rooms were added for new children. Today it has been remodeled into residential apartments. In 1854, Pippin's Methodist Church, the first church to serve the Town, was constructed at Melvill's Crossroads (Mount Zion). The present-day church was constructed in 1919 and built on the foundation of the previous 19th Century church.

During much of Caroline County's early history, mills were used to grind local grain into flour. The first mill in Henderson was known as "Mud Mill." The name was later changed to the "Choptank Mill," which still exists today.

An important part of Henderson's history, the D & C railroad passed through the town. The railroad line was completed about the same time the line for the Town of Goldsboro was finished in 1867, linking the two towns economically. An old wood burning steam train made two trips a day, carrying freight and passengers. It was called the "Baltimore" after Maryland's most famous port city. The second train to be used was the "General Tilghman," named after General Tench Tilghman, an aide-decamp for George Washington and a famous Eastern Shore plantation owner. Although the Town has experienced a decline during the 20th Century, it is still a small rural crossroad village.